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Boko Haram Releases 21 Girls Kidnapped From School in Chibok, Nigeria Says Boko Haram Releases 21 Girls Kidnapped From School in Chibok, Nigeria Says
(about 5 hours later)
LAGOS, Nigeria — Two and a half years after nearly 300 girls were kidnapped from a school in northeastern Nigeria, the government announced on Thursday that 21 of them had been freed. LAGOS, Nigeria — Two and a half years after nearly 300 girls were kidnapped from a school in northeastern Nigeria, the government announced on Thursday that 21 of them had been freed, the biggest breakthrough in a saga that has shocked the world and laid bare the deadly instability gripping large parts of the country.
The development appeared to be the greatest breakthrough so far in an episode that has highlighted the brutality of the militant group Boko Haram, which seized the girls from a school in the town of Chibok on April 14, 2014. Boko Haram, the radical Islamist group that has killed thousands of civilians, overrun villages and terrorized the region, seized the girls from a school in the town of Chibok on April 14, 2014. For many around the globe, the mass abduction provided a stunning introduction to a militant group that had already been waging war against Nigerians for years.
An international campaign had urged the Nigerian government to do more to secure the girls’ release, using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls and drawing support from Michelle Obama and others. Soon after the girls were kidnapped, an international campaign began urging the Nigerian government to do more to secure their release, using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls and drawing support from Michelle Obama and others.
“The release of the girls, in a limited number, is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram, brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government,” Garba Shehu, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, said in a series of posts on Twitter. “The negotiations will continue.” For more than a year, the Nigerian government has negotiated with Boko Haram to get the girls back. But the talks fell apart multiple times, in one case at the last minute, after the president had already agreed to free imprisoned Boko Haram fighters. Another time, the talks failed because central members of Boko Haram’s negotiating team were killed.
The girls were released around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, said at a news conference in Abuja, the capital. He did not say where they had been held captive. They were flown to Kaduna, in the northwest of the country, and were to be taken to Abuja. Finally, the government said Thursday, the negotiations bore fruit. Still, most of the girls remain in captivity, their whereabouts, health and circumstances unknown.
“Ahead of their arrival, we have assembled a team of medical doctors, psychologists, social workers, trauma experts, etc., to properly examine the girls, especially because they have been in captivity for so long,” Mr. Mohammed said. “They will also be adequately debriefed. We have the list of the 21 girls, but we are now contacting their parents as part of the necessary verification exercise. As soon as that is concluded, we will release the names to the public.” “The release of the girls, in a limited number, is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram, brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government,” Garba Shehu, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, said in a series of messages posted on Twitter. “The negotiations will continue.”
Mr. Mohammed denied preliminary reports that Boko Haram fighters might have been released in exchange for the girls. The girls were released around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, the government said. In addition to the 21 girls, a 20-month-old boy born to one of them in captivity was released, it said.
“Please note that this is not a swap,” he said. “It is a release, the product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides. We see this as a credible first step in the eventual release of all the Chibok girls in captivity. It is also a major step in confidence-building between us as a government and the Boko Haram leadership on the issue of the Chibok girls.” At a news conference in the capital, Abuja, the girls sat in rows in a room packed with government ministers, officials and camera-wielding journalists. Wearing colorful dresses, the girls listened to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo speak from behind a table, flanked by his ministers.
Relatives of the girls rejoiced, even though they did not know if their kin were among the freed. “We can imagine what they’ve gone through,” he said. “So much needs to be done to get them back to living a normal life after so much trauma in captivity.”
Mr. Osinbajo described the girls as being in “reasonably good health considering the circumstances they’ve been held in.” He added that they would stay in a medical facility “for some time, until we’re reasonably satisfied of their health condition.”
As for the other girls held by Boko Haram, Mr. Osinbajo suggested that “in the next few days, the next few months, we should be able to bring in more of these girls, along the same lines, using exactly the same negotiations.”
But he warned that the government, which is waging an aggressive campaign to fight Boko Haram and regain territory seized by the group, had the fate of the nation to consider as well.
“We want to ensure that we bring these girls back alive,” Mr. Osinbajo said. “At the same time we, of course, balance this against the overall safety and security of the country.”
Relatives of the girls rejoiced, even before they knew whether their kin were among the freed.
Lawan Zanna, the father of Aisha Zanna, one of the abducted girls, said by telephone that he hoped his daughter was among those freed. All of the parents are “very happy hearing that they have released our daughters,” he said. “All are our daughters.”Lawan Zanna, the father of Aisha Zanna, one of the abducted girls, said by telephone that he hoped his daughter was among those freed. All of the parents are “very happy hearing that they have released our daughters,” he said. “All are our daughters.”
Another parent, Esther Yakubu, said by telephone that she was praying that her daughter Dorcas was among those freed. “They say it’s only 21,” she said. “Most of them are still out there, and we want them to come back.’’Another parent, Esther Yakubu, said by telephone that she was praying that her daughter Dorcas was among those freed. “They say it’s only 21,” she said. “Most of them are still out there, and we want them to come back.’’
Manasseh Allen, a native of Chibok whose cousin was abducted, said in a phone interview that he hoped more girls could be rescued. “Once we have 21 parents now linked up with daughters, at least we have solved a good part of the problem,” he said. “So many will be hopeful that their daughters have been brought back.”Manasseh Allen, a native of Chibok whose cousin was abducted, said in a phone interview that he hoped more girls could be rescued. “Once we have 21 parents now linked up with daughters, at least we have solved a good part of the problem,” he said. “So many will be hopeful that their daughters have been brought back.”
Asked if he thought a ransom was involved, he said: “Whether it’s a ransom, whether it’s a prisoner swap, the government knows how best to get these girls back. All we are after is to get the girls back.”Asked if he thought a ransom was involved, he said: “Whether it’s a ransom, whether it’s a prisoner swap, the government knows how best to get these girls back. All we are after is to get the girls back.”
Earlier in the day, Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, denied preliminary reports that Boko Haram fighters might have been released in exchange for the girls.
“Please note that this is not a swap,” he said. “It is a release, the product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides. We see this as a credible first step in the eventual release of all the Chibok girls in captivity. It is also a major step in confidence-building between us as a government and the Boko Haram leadership on the issue of the Chibok girls.”
The Bring Back Our Girls campaign thanked the Nigerian security services on its Facebook page and added: “We trust that our government will continue to work to keep the safety, security and well-being of the other girls a high priority.”The Bring Back Our Girls campaign thanked the Nigerian security services on its Facebook page and added: “We trust that our government will continue to work to keep the safety, security and well-being of the other girls a high priority.”
The abductions, during exam time at a boarding school, shocked the world and increased pressure on the government to fight Boko Haram, which has terrorized parts of northern Nigeria for years by burning entire villages and carrying out rapes, beheadings, lootings and other acts of violence. The abductions, during exam time at a boarding school, increased pressure on the government to fight Boko Haram, which has raged through parts of northern Nigeria for years, burning entire villages and carrying out rapes, beheadings, lootings and other acts of violence.
Some girls managed to escape shortly after the fighters stormed their school and hauled away their classmates, and in May, the authorities announced that one girl, Amina Ali, had been found; she was wandering in the forest when members of a vigilante group came across her as they prepared to ambush a Boko Haram camp.Some girls managed to escape shortly after the fighters stormed their school and hauled away their classmates, and in May, the authorities announced that one girl, Amina Ali, had been found; she was wandering in the forest when members of a vigilante group came across her as they prepared to ambush a Boko Haram camp.
But a majority of the girls are still missing, and it is feared that many may never return. In August, Boko Haram released a video purporting to show the bodies of several kidnapped schoolgirls who fighters said were killed by Nigerian airstrikes.But a majority of the girls are still missing, and it is feared that many may never return. In August, Boko Haram released a video purporting to show the bodies of several kidnapped schoolgirls who fighters said were killed by Nigerian airstrikes.
Nigerian officials revealed last month that they had been negotiating with Boko Haram, in talks begun shortly after Mr. Buhari took office in November. The negotiations were derailed at least three times and were complicated by divisions inside Boko Haram.
The girls still in captivity are thought to be held by a faction controlled by the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, rather than a newer faction that has been endorsed by the Islamic State. The latter faction split from Mr. Shekau’s group after an ideological dispute over killings that targeted Muslims.The girls still in captivity are thought to be held by a faction controlled by the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, rather than a newer faction that has been endorsed by the Islamic State. The latter faction split from Mr. Shekau’s group after an ideological dispute over killings that targeted Muslims.
Western intelligence officials have said they believed the girls were scattered in small groups, another hurdle to rescuing them.Western intelligence officials have said they believed the girls were scattered in small groups, another hurdle to rescuing them.
The Nigerian military, with help from troops from neighboring nations and from the United States, Britain and France, has made big advances against Boko Haram in recent months, recapturing towns, arresting and killing militants and pushing remaining fighters into the forest. But it has had trouble holding towns once liberated from Boko Haram control, and Boko Haram fighters have also taken the fight to neighboring countries like Niger.The Nigerian military, with help from troops from neighboring nations and from the United States, Britain and France, has made big advances against Boko Haram in recent months, recapturing towns, arresting and killing militants and pushing remaining fighters into the forest. But it has had trouble holding towns once liberated from Boko Haram control, and Boko Haram fighters have also taken the fight to neighboring countries like Niger.